Ponencia 2 Ingles

Ponencia nº 2.-Parks & Gardens in Egypt Presented By Arch. Gihan Fikry Amin Egyptian History in a Quick Preview A-Pharaohs Kingdoms • Ancient Kingdom (Dynasty I-X) 3000-2130 B.C Memphis the first capital was founded by King Menes, the three Great pyramids were built by Cheops, Chephren and Mykernios, as a result of their belief in afterlife. The pyramids contained all the basic necessities and their treasures that would return to them. • Middle Kingdom ( Dynasty XI- XVII) 2130-1580 B.C Irrigation started in this dynasty where Amenmhat III started an irrigation system in Fayoum. • New Empire ( Dynasties XVIII-XXX) ,1580-322B.C Amasis expelled the first conquerors (Hyksos) to Egypt from the delta, Thebes was the second capital, and Akhnaten founded Tel el Amarna to be the third capital. B- Ptolemaic Period (332-30 B.C) Alexander the Great founded Alexandria as the capital and it became the center of the Greek culture. C- Roman Period (30 B.C-A.D395) were Egypt under Caesar entered to another phase of prosperity, Christianity was declared to be the recognized religion of the state. D- Byzantine Period (A.D 395-639) Egypt was ruled by Eastern roman emperors from Constantinople E- Arab Period (A.D639-Present) • Early Islamic Egypt( 639-868)Amr Ibn Al As enters Egypt from Syria, Muslim armies form Fustat (the capital) • Arab period started by Abbasids entering Egypt and founding al Askar in 750, followed by the Tulunidis, then the Ikhshids, Fatimids and Ayyubids. • Fatimids(969-1171) Jawhar al Siqili founded al Qahira • Ayyubids(1171-1250) Construction of the Citadel in 1171, in 1187 Salah El Din recaptures Jerusalem .Al Saleh Ayyub builds an army of Turkish slaves ( Mamlouks) • F- Ottoman Rule • G- French Influence • H- British Protectorate • 1922 Egypt became an independent State. Why gardens? • Belief in afterlife Throughout History the people of Egypt still held on their belief in afterlife. Romans, Muslims, Christians, Persians and prior to them all the ancient Egyptians all shared the same concept of paradise. Their visions included a paradise garden watered by four rivers, the world divided into four sections, with a pool or spring of life at the center and Traditional Islamic gardens are usually divided by four canals or channels of water, often with a pool or fountain at their juncture. This is where the main designs of gardens came from as all the generations were striving to create their paradise on earth. • Social Reasons Gardens throughout history were used for relaxation, outdoor eating, children's’ play and the cultivation of beautiful and edible plants. Knowledge of these gardens comes from Egyptian tomb paintings, made so that pharaohs could enjoy in the after-life similar comforts to those they had enjoyed in the early stage of their existence. • Artistic Reasons GARDENS were very popular and played a large part in the lives of ancient Egyptians. Gardens were much to them, highly esteemed, and allowing garden owners to see life nicely regulated within the large or small strip of land Temple gardens are the oldest surviving manifestation of the quest to make outdoor space as works of art Gardens and Irrigation • There are two main traditions in garden design: the Eastern and the Western. The Eastern tradition is rooted in the gardens of China while the Western tradition is rooted in the gardens of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Because Egypt and Mesopotamia were separated from each other by desert, their cultures tended to develop independently. • One of the main reasons why civilizations developed in Egypt and Mesopotamia was because there was very little rainfall, both civilizations were rooted in the need for elaborate irrigation systems; Middle Eastern gardens have sometimes been called “gardens of irrigation”. The formal gardens of Western Civilization evolved out of this agricultural system of geometric plots which were watered by straight irrigation ditches. • The Iranian plateau is even more arid than the river valleys of Egypt and Mesopotamia; Persian gardens have always celebrated water, but water has always been a valuable resource which had to be managed carefully. Most water on the plateau came from the surrounding mountains where melting snows produced streams and rivers which usually dried up during the hot summers. The solution to the water shortage was to construct underground aqueducts (or quants) which lead water from the mountains to fields and villages on the plateau; this practice dates back to the sixth century B.C. Influences affecting garden designs • The history of the Middle East is one of empires conquering each other. At the time that Alexander the Great conquered Persia, both Egypt and Mesopotamia were part of the Persian Empire and the Persia had fully absorbed the garden traditions of both civilizations. Greece had never been known for its ornamental gardens. This was partially because much of the soil was poor • Alexander’s generals carved up his empire into a number of kingdoms after his death. In these kingdoms, Classical Greek culture combined with the local cultures, this produced a hybrid, international culture which we call Hellenistic. Hellenistic gardens weren’t just descended from the agricultural traditions; they were also descended from the hunting parks of ancient Assyria. The Assyrians had ruled parts of Persia and the Persian monarchs continued their tradition of creating hunting parks.” • The Hellenistic tradition of garden design was absorbed by Romans when they conquered the Middle East and it survived in the Middle East after the eastern part of the Roman Empire became the Christian Byzantine Empire. • After the Western part of the Roman Empire collapsed, ornamental gardens were rare in Western Europe. Early Medieval gardens were almost always utilitarian, although some monastic gardens seem to have retained the formal lines of Hellenistic gardens. With the Islamic conquest of Spain in the eighth century, ornamental gardens were re-introduced to Western Europe. During the Crusades of the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries many knights experienced Byzantine and Islamic gardens and returned to their castles with a desire to create ornamental gardens. Ancient Egyptian Periods • Ancient Egyptians designed and thrived in Garden Houses, it was not modern architect who invented the Garden House concept. • • Ancient Egyptian gardens often consisted of both trees and other plants. There were about eighteen varieties of trees grown by the Egyptians. Popular trees included the sycamore fig, pomegranate, nut trees and jujube. Willows, acacia and tamarisk were also there. • • From an enclosed yard with a few fruit trees to botanical and zoological gardens with exotic trees, ponds, often stocked with fish, and caged animals and birds, gardens are depicted in many tombs. • • Sacred gardens had ponds , papyrus, flowers and vegetables, as represented schematically in ancient tomb drawings. There were exotic trees that were brought from the new countries subdued during the New Kingdom and planted in sacred "botanical" gardens. • In the country the houses and palaces were set in a large garden surrounded by a wall . Sometimes there was more than one pond, and a garden could be divided into areas . In one case, • The front section had a rectangular pond parallel to the river, with water plants in it, and there were also date palms and sycamores. • A second section in the middle area was enclosed within a wall and planted with light green trees that were perhaps rare species to give the garden owner privacy. • A rear section was the largest area and again has a rectangular pond bordered on one side by date palms and on the other by sycamores. Near this rear section was a small open kiosk. On either long side of the whole garden an enclosed path was planted with trees of alternating species, while tall trees formed an effective screen at the back of the estate. Domestic Gardens • The earliest surviving detailed garden plan, dating from about 1400 BC, is of a garden belonging to an Egyptian high court official at Thebes. The main entrance is aligned on a pergola (trellis-bordered) walk of vines leading directly to the dwelling. The rest of the garden is laid out with tree-lined avenues, four rectangular ponds containing waterfowl, and two garden pavilions. • Private dwellings, like temples, were rectangular enclosures bounded by high walls. The geometry of garden compounds appears more symmetrical than that of temples but, since there are no physical examples, this may be no more than artist’s license. Regularity comes naturally to the artist and is less likely to appear on the ground, except when gardens are made with paper plans and surveying equipment. Egyptian domestic gardens were places for bodily comfort, with fruit trees, flowers, pools, pot plants, vine-clad pergolas and places to sit, in winter sun or summer shade. Temple Gardens • They were used by priests and pharaohs, though members of the oldest garden survivals are the temple compounds of ancient Egypt public might be admitted on festival days. The design of temples helped to explain the nature of the world and the social order, as we now do through science, religion, art, history and politics. • Axial lines were used but the overall geometry was non-symmetrical. Temples were built in rectangular compounds bounded by high walls. The internal space was in part ceremonial and in part laid to gardens. Temples were linked by avenues, lined with trees, sphinxes and statues. The line of the avenue ran into the compound and led through a series of processional gates to a hypostyle hall and then an inner sanctum, the holy of holies. The basic construction materials were stone and mud brick. Cairo During Different Periods (The story behind each garden) • Cairo is one of the cities that have a long history of parks and green spaces.

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